We provide a systematic literature review of the determinants and consequences of real earnings management (REM) in an international context. We provide a theoretical framework for REM, the development of REM measures, and review the determinants of REM, categorising these into financial reporting, auditing, governance and controls, capital market incentives, and regulatory determinants. We then review the empirical literature on the consequences of REM. We provide some suggestions for future research on measurement issues related to REM, and on filling gaps in the empirical research investigating its determinants and consequences.

Background: There are several factors that lead to the growth or decline of the nonperforming loans, such as macroeconomic variables and bank specific variables, banks ownership structure, corruption and information sharing. Among them one of the main factors that affect the non-performing loans are the corruption. In developing countries corruption plays very important role in the growth of non-performing loans. Objectives: This study investigates the impact of corruption at economy level and institution level on the nonperforming loans. This study also examines the association of information sharing between depositors, lenders and financial institutions. Methods/Approach: The current study used time series data over the period of 2001 to 2010 and employed OLS method. Results: The results provide no significant association of corruption and information sharing with non-performing loans. Conclusions: The results suggest no significant impact of corruption on non-performing loans because of the nature of the data used, but as literature provides significant impact of corruption on non-performing loans, therefore State Bank of Pakistan and commercial banks can reduce the level of non-performing loans by reducing the chance of corrupt practices by following the rules and regulation of credit allocation, supervision and loan monitoring.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the association between political connections, political uncertainty and audit fees. The authors use various measures of political connections and uncertainty: political connections (civil and military), political events (elections) and a general measure of political stability (i.e. a world bank index). Design/methodology/approach The authors measure the association between political connections, political uncertainty and audit fees. Audit fees reflect auditors’ perceptions of risk. The authors examine auditors’ business risk, clients’ audit and business risk after controlling for the variables used in prior audit fee research. Findings Results indicate that civil-connected firms pay significantly higher audit fees than non-connected firms owing to the instability of civil-political connections. Military-connected firms pay significantly lower audit fees than non-connected firms owing to the stable form of government. Furthermore, considering high leverage as a measure of clients’ high audit risk and high return-on-assets (ROA) as a measure of clients’ lower business risk, the authors interact leverage and ROA with civil and military connections. The results reveal that these risks moderate the relationship between political connection and audit fees. Election risk is independent of risk associated with political connections. General political stability reinforces the theme that a stable government results in lower risks. Originality/value The authors combine cross-sectional measures of political uncertainty (civil or military connections) with time-dependent measures (general measures of political instability and elections).

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of ownership structure on the bank riskiness as measured by NPLs, by using traditional view that that concentrated ownership results in enhanced banking performance by reducing the bank riskiness, whereas dispersed ownership results in the reduced banking performance and increased bank riskiness against the opposite view that ownership concentration does not have impact on the bank riskiness. By using the data from Pakistani banking sector results suggested the validity of traditional view that publically owned banks (dispersed ownership) reduces the banks performance and enhance the banks riskiness (NPLs), whereas rejected the view that concentrated ownership (privately owned banks and foreign banks) enhances bank performance and erodes the bank riskiness.

Deactivation of ICDs at end of life throws up challenges for clinicians and patients. This review points toward a need for communication training for clinicians and early initiation of discussion around the time of ICD insertion, as well improving clinicians' and patients' knowledge of the ethics and legality of deactivation.